Archive for 2013

The following is an email from PLAN “office mom” Barbara Silva. For her birthday she wanted people to donate to her favorite social justice organization 🙂

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My name is Bárbara Silva, but you can call me Barbs. I volunteer for PLAN, and some would say I’m the “office mom.”

Barbs and Astrid

I got involved with PLAN through my daughter Astrid who is the immigration organizer (I may be biased, but she is the best organizer they have). I like to bring the staff food, help them decorate the office for parties and events, and sometimes I have to scold them for working too much or not wearing a hat and gloves when it’s cold outside.

PLAN welcomed me into their family and empowered me to use my voice as a Latina, a mother, and an immigrant to advocate for social justice. And for that, I am forever thankful.

I came to the United States more than 20 years ago with little education. I did not feel confident speaking out publicly about issues I cared for, and I didn’t think someone like me, an undocumented housewife, would be taken seriously. But PLAN showed me that everyone deserves fairness and justice, and our stories and our voices matter.

At the MOAC meeting of June 26, 2013, I raised serious allegations that the mining industry was largely responsible for methyl mercury poisoning of Nevada waters and fisheries. I cited UNR research suggesting that mercury emissions from tailings facilities and active heap leach operations are now probably double the amount of mercury being released into the air, compared to that being reported under state requirements. I said that the technology exists to decrease mercury pollution from these sources, but neither the mining industry or the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection seems to care.

In response to questions about this from this committee, theNDEP adminstrator basically blamed sources other than current Nevada gold mining for contaminating Nevada’s fisheries and waters.

And she said that the NDEP mission of promoting economic development prevented her agency from coming down too hard on mining. Since none of the economic development authorities have environmental protection in their mission statements, why should NDEP’s mission include economic development?

More importantly, I urge you, in the strongest possible terms, to get to the truth about mercury contamination in Nevada. Please place the issue of unregulated fugitive mercury emissions from mining tailings and heap leach operations on your next meeting agenda. We can suggest specific experts for you to invite.

According to the EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory, mining accounts for 98% of all toxic pollutants released in Nevada. Every day, methyl mercury from active gold mines is polluting our water and contaminating our fish and wildlife.Please don’t let it continue to happen under your watch.

And in anticipation of today’s agenda regarding reclamation, in which we’re sure to hear rosy assurances of success, the General Accounting Office reported recently that: “We determined that 57 hardrock operations (in 12 western states) had inadequate financial assurances—amounting to about $24 million less than needed to fully cover estimated reclamation costs.” Nevada’s share of that $24 million is $23,853,662 (more than 99.4% of the total of the 12 western states.) And, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, the cost for cleanup of abandoned hardrock mines could run as high as $54 billion. Much of that cost could ultimately be borne by U.S. taxpayers.

Meantime, every year the industry takes billions in gold and other hardrock minerals without compensating taxpayers as a whole, states like Nevada, or covering cleanup costs. This must change.

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Check out the message below from our friends at the New Bottom Line who are fighting every day to put the economic interest and financial security of working American families first.

Take action and tell Senator Dean Heller not to block the confirmation of Mel Watt as the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency

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We just found out that President Obama and Senate leadership is pushing Rep. Mel Watt’s Confirmation forward!

After months of inaction, the Senate is close to a vote to Confirm Rep. Mel Watt to become the permanent regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who together control more than half the mortgages in the US.

The vote might happen this week, so we need to prevent a potential filibuster and make sure that our Senators vote to confirm Rep. Watt.

Can you take 1 minute and call your Senators to urge them to confirm Rep. Mel Watt to head Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac so we can keep millions of homeowners out of foreclosure and get our housing market and economy back on track?

Call 866-200-6444 today.

When you connect with your Senator tell them:

My name is ______________ I am urging you to vote to confirm Representative Mel Watt to lead Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Representative Watt is extremely well qualified and deserves an up or down vote and a speedy confirmation.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been without a permanent regulator since President Obama took office. Homeowners and communities deserve better!

In April, Rep. Watt was nominated by President Obama to replace acting director Ed DeMarco — a Bush-era appointee — as permanent director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).

As a 20-year member of Congress, Rep. Watt has supported principal reduction, championed anti-predatory lending legislation, and was a key supporter of the Dodd-Frank Act. Rep. Watt knows what it takes to get the housing market and economy back on track.

Senators from both sides of the aisle, including Republican Richard Burr and Democrat Elizabeth Warren, have endorsed Rep Watt and recognize that he is extremely well-qualified to be our nation’s next chief housing regulator. But some Republican senators oppose his nomination on party lines.

Call now to urge your Senators to vote for cloture to make sure Rep. Watt’s nomination can come up for an up or down vote. Voting for cloture limits debate and guards against a Senate filibuster, which would make an up or down vote impossible. We can’t let a few Senators block Rep. Watt’s confirmation.

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Celebrate National Coming Out Day with Out2Enroll, a collaborate effort of the Center for American Progress, the Federal Agencies Project, and the Sellers Dorsey Foundation to educate the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender communities about the options now available under the Affordable Care Act. The educational campaign launches on October 11 to coincide with National Coming Out Day and will include a website specifically tailored to the LGBT communities and will include information on such topics as coverage available to transgender people, obtaining family coverage, applying for financial assistance with a same-sex spouse, finding LGBT-friendly health care providers in your area, and how to find help if you experience discrimination when applying for coverage or obtaining care.

This focus on access to health care is grounded in the need to erase long-standing health disparities for the LGBT community. Research by the Center for American Progress has demonstrated that 1 in 3 LGBT persons in the US are uninsured, a major obstacle to ensuring equality for all. However, there are now options under the Affordable Care Act and as of October 1, Nevadans are able to shop online for health insurance plans at Nevada’s Health Link, an insurance marketplace created under the Affordable Care Act.

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Check out this blog from PLAN Intern Sarah Short who is a Master of Social Work student from the University of Southern California. Join thousands of people around the world this Saturday as they March Against Monsanto and demand our food be safe and labeled.

This Saturday, hundreds of marches will be held across the U.S and the world to bring awareness of the increase in genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in our food supply. The world wide “March Against Monsanto” will bring together activists and concerned citizens to protest corporations, like Monsanto, that continue the practice of manipulating our crops and controlling farmers through litigation to produce crops that have not been proven safe. Monsanto also seeks to profit off of climate change.

Currently, over 85% of corn and 91% of soybeans are genetically modified, this means, the DNA from another species (bacteria, insects, or viruses) are artificially combined to produce plants that resist herbicides and produce their own pesticides. Corn and soybeans are not the only crops thing being altered by Monsanto, thousands of other plants and animals have as well, such as: pigs injected with human grown genes and fish with cattle growth genes. It is estimated that nearly 75% of foods in our supermarkets contain genetically modified ingredients.

Despite the fact that 18 countries have banned, and over 60 countries require labeling of GMOs, Congress has yet to pass any laws to required labeling. While other countries refuse to allow GMOs in their food supply until proven safe, the US has decided to allow them until proven unsafe: we are their science experiment. The FDA has the authority to label over 3,000 ingredients in our food, such as: milk, peanuts, and soy. The FDA also has the authority to label GMOs, yet they will not. Interestingly, the Deputy Commissioner of Policy at the FDA spent over 10 years working as an attorney representing Monsanto.

Numerous studies have questioned the safety of these new genetically modified organisms and the risk to human health and the environment could be disastrous. In contrast to studies questioning the safety of GMOs, the USDA has claimed NO pre-market studies will be performed on crops and biotech companies are responsible for performing their own safety studies. In response, Monsanto has stated: “There is no need for, or value in testing the safety of GM (genetically modified) foods in humans”.

Please join hundreds of others to show your concern against the use of GMOs in our food supply!

Recently, as more bars and liquor stores have combined with increased popularity to create a rowdy party atmosphere along the Fremont Street East corridor, authorities have taken to barricading streets, over-enforcing open container laws, and relying on the intervention of the Rangers, a private security force established by billionaire Tony Hsieh, to ensure his newly relocated employees feel safe during their own after-work partying. Now, after collecting anecdotal evidence from Las Vegas Metro Police on underage drinking and hearing the bemoaning of some downtown businesses, the Mayor of Las Vegas introduced a new curfew ordinance. While there is already a curfew in effect throughout the city and even county, this would create a special zone in which minors without specific business downtown would be subject to citation and detention starting at 9:00 pm on weekends (the current curfew for weekends is midnight). This zone would have originally covered a substantial portion of central Las Vegas, including thousands of residents, many of whom are low income and people of color. This would have criminalized the children playing in their neighborhood streets, going to the nearest store or restaurant, or utilizing the social services and community centers within the area. Both child and parent would face fines and potential detention.

Upon learning of this policy proposal (PLAN’s Las Vegas office was within both the first and second proposed set of boundaries),we educated our youth volunteers about the effects it could have on their activities as well as popular cultural events like First Friday, and in the process of our research discovered the flaws in our current citywide curfew. We released a statement and testified on changes to the curfew that would restrict a new zone only to the bar and casino-filled “adults only” area and reduce fines and penalties to keep young people out of the school to prison pipeline. We also highlighted the need to build a downtown that is inclusive for all people, the need for social services to address issues of substance abuse, and a focus on controlling the flow of liquor in Downtown Las Vegas by policing distributors as strictly as we police consumers. Thanks to this pressure, we got the curfew area reduced to our ideal size, and we are continuing to push for a reduction in penalties for curfew violations. This has also helped energize young people in a current issue that directly affects them, showing the importance of civic engagement, and is creating an opening for us to take on issues of Correctional Justice at the state and local levels. A final ordinance could be voted on as early as October 2.

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This Saturday thousands of civil rights activists from across the country will meet in Washington, DC and march for voting rights, economic freedom, civil liberties and equality for all to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

The March on Washington was organized by a coalition of civil rights, labor and religious organizers in 1963. They welcomed close to 300,000 marchers from across the country; it was at that march where Dr. Martin Luther King gave his historic ‘I Have A Dream Speech.’

The energy in Washington this weekend will be just as powerful as it was 50 years ago. The March on Washington is credited for the passage of both the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act, and recent actions including a brutal voting rights decision from the Supreme Court, has renewed the call to action to fight for justice and civil rights.

If you can not make it to Washington this weekend, there are events happening in Las Vegas and Reno. We hope that you can join PLAN and other community organizations in celebrating the March on Washington, and renewing our vows to social justice for all Nevadans.

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This Friday August 23rd Congressman Mark Amodei (District 2) is hosting an immigration listening session for his constituents. Right now immigration reform activists (pictured above) are preparing for the listening session by practicing, developing questions, and calling on PLAN activists to attend.

It’s the August Recess, a month long break our Members of Congress have from their Congressional duties in Washington, DC. They’re home in Nevada talking to constituents, visiting small businesses, and holding town halls. A town hall is an opportunity for you to speak directly with your elected officials. Friday is your opportunity to ask Congressman Amodei directly what he will do to guarantee there is a vote in the House THIS YEAR for immigration reform that keeps families together and provides a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States.

If you’re in the Reno area Friday, we hope you will attend. Here are the details:

Congressman Mark Amodei Immigration Listening Session

Friday August 23, 2013

10:30am – Noon

Washoe County Commission Chamber, Building A

1001 East 9th Street, Reno NV 89512

Prior to the listening session there will be a vigil at 9:30 AM with immigration activists,

feel free to join us!

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This morning our state director sent the following message to our activists. Take a look, and take action to stop fracking in our state!

Dear Activist,

Our friends at the Western Organization of Resource Councils just sent this compelling alert on how you can influence new Bureau of Land Management policies on fracking on federal lands. I’ve pasted it below and encourage you to submit comments today!

Since our state has not acted to protect Nevada from the dangers of fracking, we must demand federal regulators step in before our fragile lands and precious waters are completely plundered.

Thanks!

Bob

Begin forwarded message:

Dear Bob,

This is our last week to tell the Obama Administration that its rules for fracking federal oil and gas wells don’t do enough to protect clean air and water.

Fracking pumps toxic, cancer-causing chemicals into the ground, threatening water resources. It fouls the air and can lower property values.

Last spring, the BLM first proposed new rules for fracking on federal lands – and for private lands that lie over oil and gas owned by the federal government. They were a good start but, unfortunately, the White House and BLM gave in to pressure from the oil and gas industry and proposed different rules headed in the wrong direction.

The latest requirements for public disclosure of chemicals and well safety tests are weaker, not stronger.

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About

The Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada was founded in 1994 to bring together diverse and potentially competing organizations into one cohesive force for social and environmental justice in Nevada. Since 1994, our organization has grown from 12 original founding member groups to a current membership of over 30 organizations.